Merchant Marine Vietnam Service Medal

The Merchant Marine Vietnam Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine authorized on May 20, 1968.

Conditions

The decoration is awarded to officers and men for service aboard merchant vessels flying the American flag in Vietnam waters between July 4, 1965 and August 15, 1973.

Design

Prior to 1992, the Merchant Marine Vietnam Service Medal was a ribbon-only decoration. Afterwards, a medal was affixed to the ribbon. As follows is a design note: "the dragon is traditionally associated with Vietnam, the shoreline denotes service in the coastal waters adjacent to Vietnam, and the anchor symbolizes maritime service."